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Coloring Your Stamped Images

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Once you have stamped an image onto a piece of paper or cardstock, there are several things you can do, or not do. We will discuss these ideas and you can choose the one that works best for your project.

A stamped image can look great all by itself, but most stampers and scrapbookers decide to color in their image or alter the image in some way. Many choose colored stamp pads to add the color that way. For the sake of this article, we are going to assume that you are looking for different ways to color in the inside of your image.

Coloring takes us back to the days of Preschool and Kindergarten. There is nothing more satisfying that holding a brand new coloring utensil in your hand and creating a masterpiece.

Once you have a stamped image, there are four typical items used for coloring.

Water Color Pencils

Chalk

Markers

Colored Pencils

Each item gives a different effect and can make an images appearance have a softer or more vibrant look depending on which you choose.

In later articles I plan to go more in depth of each item and coloring in your stamped image, as well as giving you some great tips. Right now, I will give you a few verbal examples on how the image will appear.

With Water Color Pencils you can achieve a darker look by coloring the entire image and then applying the water, or you can color just a very light amount to achieve a soft color when the water is applied. You can also get some shading effects in place by only coloring half of the image and then blending.

I love working with chalks. There are a variety of different chalks on the market and different ways to apply the chalk. Depending on the tool you use for application, the image will appear more subtle, blended or even darker. Sometimes I even think chalks almost look like water colors.

Using markers is probably one of the most common tools to use to color in your stamped images. This achieves a solid, vivid color and there aren’t a lot of different variations.

Colored Pencils are similar to watercolor pencils before the water is applied. You have a couple of different looks you can achieve depending on whether you use a sharpened edge or a dull edge. A dull edge is always better. Applying more pressure achieves a darker look. Applying less pressure achieves a softer more subtle and blended look.